Salvatore Lopes—Master Printer
Salvatore Lopes (American, b. 1943)
Edward Weston’s Darkroom, 1978
Platinum print
Gift of the photographer
Ruth Bernhard (American, b. Germany, 1905–2006)
Perspective II, 1967
Platinum print, printed later by Salvatore Lopes
Gift of Salvatore Lopes
Helen Levitt (American, 1913–2009)
New York, 1939
Gelatin silver print, printed later by Salvatore Lopes
Gift of Salvatore Lopes
Linda Connor (American, b. 1944)
Banares, India, 1979
Platinum print, printed later by Salvatore Lopes
Gift of Salvatore Lopes
George Hoyningen-Huene (American, b. Russia, 1900–1968)
Horst Torso, ca. 1930
Platinum print, printed later by Salvatore Lopes
Gift of Salvatore Lopes
Salvatore Lopes, American, b. 1943
Danielle Toth, American
Mainbocher Corset, 1939
Platinum print, printed later by Salvatore Lopes
Gift of Salvatore Lopes
Salvatore Lopes is a photographer and printer widely recognized for his expertise in platinum
printing, a chemical process that produces photographs rich with tonality and relatively free from
image fading. Alongside his spouse, Danielle Toth, Lopes operated a commercial printing studio
that offered services to individual artists, estates, and art galleries for decades. Lopes first
received his training as a fine printer in the 1970s under the mentorship of Richard Benson, a
specialist in photographic and photomechanical reproduction, and later became known as a
master printer in his own right. His reputation as a skilled darkroom technician led him to work
with clients such as the Aperture Foundation and the estates of significant photographers like
Nickolas Muray, Paul Strand, and Edward Weston.
In 2026, the George Eastman Museum acquired over 500 works from the printing studio of
Salvatore Lopes, a transformative gift that includes platinum and gelatin silver proof prints,
photographic negatives, masking devices, and related materials. This collection of printer’s
proofs, made at the behest of various photographic artists and their representatives, highlights
the important intermediary role of a respected commercial printer in the field of photography. By
adding these objects to the museum’s Photography Collection, our institution is better equipped
to serve as a resource for the study of photographic reproduction of the twentieth century.
Salvatore Lopes—Master Printer features the work of Anderson & Low, Ruth Bernhard,
Margaret Bourke-White, Paul Caponigro, Keith Carter, Linda Connor, Judy Dater, Louis Faurer,
Richard Gere, Tony Gleaton, Horst P. Horst, George Hoyningen-Huene, Marcus Leatherdale,
Helen Levitt, Peter Lindbergh, Salvatore Lopes, George Platt Lynes, Robert Mapplethorpe, Arno
Rafael Minkkinen, Lisette Model, Robert Rauschenberg, Herb Ritts, Philip Trager, and Carrie
Mae Weems. In addition to photographers who have become highly regarded for their
contributions to modernist traditions, fashion and editorial modes, and fine art photography
practices, this exhibition showcases Salvatore Lopes’s own photographic projects including The
Wall: Images and Offerings from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Living with AIDS: A
Photographic Journal, and 9/11.
Curated by Jamie M. Allen and Louis Chavez, Department of Photography.
Generously Supported by John Frater and Elisa Root.